Recording sheet and method for preparation thereof

ABSTRACT

The object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording sheet which can give an image having an appearance looking like a picture, especially, an oil painting with maintaining sufficient print density. According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording sheet comprising a support and an ink receiving layer provided on one side of the support, where the support is a fabric and the surface of the ink receiving layer has an arithmetical mean roughness of not more than 30 μm measured in accordance with JIS B0601. The present invention further provides an ink jet recording sheet mentioned above, wherein the ink receiving layer is coated on a pigment layer coated on at least one side of the fabric or on at least one side of the fabric impregnated with a pigment component. The ink receiving layer preferably contains a gas phase method silica.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an ink jet recording sheet, and, moreparticularly, to an ink jet recording sheet having a fabric as a supportand having sufficient ink jet applicability and peculiar feeling ofpicture.

BACKGROUND ART

Ink jet recording systems perform recording of images or letters byejecting ink droplets according to various principles and depositingthem onto recording sheets such as paper. The ink jet recording systemshave the features that they can perform high-speed printing, producelittle noise, are easy in multicolor printing, are great in versatilityof patterns to be recorded, and require no development-fixation step,and they have rapidly spread in various uses as devices for recordingvarious figures including Chinese letters and color images. Furthermore,the multicolor ink jetting systems are not inferior in the resultingcolor images to the multicolor printing according to the plate makingsystems. Moreover, when a small number of prints are to be produced,because of its cheapness, the systems are being widely applied to thefield of full-color image recording.

As for the recording sheets used in the ink jet recording systems,efforts have been made from the side of apparatus or ink composition sothat the general woodfree papers and coated papers for printing orwriting can be used. However, with improvement in performances of inkjet recording apparatuses or expansion of uses, such as printing speed,minuteness of images, or full-color recording, ink jet recording sheetsare also required to have the higher characteristics.

That is, they are required to have the following high imagereproducibility: inked dots have a high density and a light and clearcolor tone; ink is quickly absorbed into the recording sheets, and evenwhen an inked dot overlaps another inked dot, the ink does not flow orblot; inked dots do not diffuse in lateral direction more than needed;and inked dots have smooth and distinct perimeter lines.

Hitherto, papers or films have been used as supports for ink jetrecording sheets. However, due to the recent diversification of taste,there have also be developed ink jet recording sheets using fabricsrepresented by woven fabrics as the supports.

Conventionally, printing of fabrics has been carried out by suchprinting methods as roller printing, screen printing, transfer printing,and the like, but owing to the recent tendency to produce many kinds ofproducts in small quantities, printing by an ink jet recording method isnow investigated. Specifically, Japanese Patent No. 1823665, JapanesePatent No. 1823666, JP-A-61-138785, JP-A-61-138786, and Japanese PatentNo. 1785060, etc. disclose methods of carrying out printing on fabricshaving an image receiving layer on one side by an ink jet recordingmethod.

At present, printing on fabrics by ink jet recording systems is used forpreparation of dyed samples. Apart from the printing field, it isproposed to produce duplicates of pictures utilizing ink jet recordingsheets having fabrics as supports (JP-A-10-6700). However, at present,there have not yet been provided ink jet recording sheets from whichpicture-like, particularly, oil painting-like images can be obtainedonly by carrying out printing by ink jet recording systems.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording sheet which can give images having a feeling of a picture,especially, an oil painting with maintaining sufficient print density.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

As a result of intensive research conducted in an attempt to solve theabove problems, the inventors have accomplished the following invention.

That is, the present invention provides an ink jet recording sheethaving an ink receiving layer on one side of a support, wherein thesupport is a fabric and the surface of the ink receiving layer has anarithmetical mean roughness of not more than 30 μm measured inaccordance with JIS B0601.

The fabric preferably has a pigment layer on at least the side on whichthe ink receiving layer is provided or is impregnated with a pigmentcomponent.

The surface of the ink receiving layer preferably has a 75° speculargloss of not less than 10 measured in accordance with JIS P8142.

The fabric is preferably a woven fabric comprising yarns having adiameter of not less than 200 μm.

More preferably, the ink receiving layer contains a gas phase methodsilica.

More preferably, said gas phase method silica has an average primaryparticle diameter of 3-40 nm and a specific surface area of not lessthan 50 m²/g measured by BET method.

The present invention further provides a method for producing an ink jetrecording sheet which comprises calendering a fabric coated with apigment layer on at least one side or impregnated with a pigmentcomponent and then coating an ink receiving layer on the pigment layeror on one side of the fabric impregnated with the pigment component.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A picture, particularly, an oil painting is made by drawing figures on acanvas of an undercoated fabric comprising jute yarns. Features of thesurface of drawn oil paintings are (1) a stereoscopic feeling developedby unevenness in textures of the fabric and (2) a glossy feeling as anexpression method. As a result of intensive investigation conducted bythe inventors on the formation of picture-like images by ink jetrecording systems, it has been found that ink jet recording sheetssatisfying one or both of the above conditions can provide picture-likeimages after printed.

That is, in the ink jet recording sheet of the present invention, thesupport is a fabric, a fabric coated with a pigment layer on at leastone side or a fabric impregnated with a pigment component, one side ofthe fabric is coated with an ink receiving layer, and the surface of theink receiving layer has an arithmetical mean roughness of not more than30 μm measured in accordance with JIS B0601.

The greater unevenness of the surface of the ink receiving layer isnaturally preferred because the stereoscopic feeling is moreaccentuated, but too great unevenness causes deterioration of printdensity in ink jet recording. The inventors have investigated this pointand, as a result, it has been found that the stereoscopic feeling of thesurface of the ink receiving layer and the print density can be balancedby using a fabric as a support and setting the arithmetical meanroughness of the ink receiving layer at not more than 30 μm. Thearithmetical mean roughness is more preferably 3-25 μm.

As to the glossy feeling as an element for images looking like oilpainting, although an ink jet recording sheet having a gloss which usespaper or film as a support shows higher gloss, when an oil printingimage is printed thereon, the printed image can never give a feeling ofan oil painting. The inventors have also investigated this point, and,as a result, it has been found that the printed images become closer tooil paintings by using a fabric as a support and setting the 75°specular gloss of the surface of the ink receiving layer at not lessthan 10. Thus the present invention has been accomplished. The 75°specular gloss is more preferably not less than 15. There is no specialupper limit, but when the support is a fabric, a 75° specular gloss ofmore than 50 is considerably difficult to obtain and, besides, there isno need to employ such a 75° specular gloss.

As means for attaining the arithmetical mean roughness of not more than30 μm measured in accordance with JIS B0601 for the surface of the inkreceiving layer and the 75° specular gloss of not less than 10 measuredin accordance with JIS P8142 for the surface of the ink receiving layer,there are (1) selecting suitable thickness of yarns constituting thefabric or selecting the weaving method, (2) providing a pigment layer onthe fabric used as a support or impregnating the fabric with a pigmentcomponent, (3), furthermore, subjecting the fabric provided with thepigment layer to calendering treatment, (4) using microfine particles asthe pigment in the ink receiving layer (for example, alumina hydrate,gas phase method silica, etc.), (5) after providing the ink receivinglayer, carrying out a surface treatment using a calender such as machinecalender, super calender, or soft-calender, and others.

The fabrics used as a support in the present invention are general wovenfabrics, knitted fabrics, nonwoven fabrics and the like. As the fibersconstituting these fabrics, there may be used organic synthetic fibers,for example, polyester fibers of homopolymers and copolymers such aspolyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate and modifiedpolymers of them, polyolefin fibers of homopolymers and copolymers suchas polypropylene, polyethylene, poly-styrene and modified polymers ofthem, polyacrylo-nitrile fibers such as acrylic fibers and modacrylicfibers, nylon fibers such as such as nylon 6 and nylon 66, polyvinylalcohol fibers, and urethane fibers; regenerated fibers such asregenerated cellulose fibers, e.g., rayon and fibers obtained byspinning a solution of collagen, alginic acid, chitin or the like;semisynthetic fibers such as acetate fibers; natural fibers such asvegetable fibers of hemp and cotton and protein fibers such as wool andsilk; inorganic fibers such as metallic fibers, glass fibers and carbonfibers. These may be used each alone or in combination.

The nonwoven fabrics used in the present invention are roughlyclassified into wet nonwoven fabrics, dry nonwoven fabrics made bystitch bond method, spun bond method, melt blown method, thermal bondmethod and the like, and spun lace nonwoven fabrics using wet nonwovenfabrics or dry nonwoven fabrics.

In the present invention, it is preferred to use woven fabricscomprising yarns of 200 μm or more in diameter since more oilpainting-like images can be expressed. However, in case the diameter ofyarns is too large, it becomes difficult to adjust the arithmetical meanroughness of the surface of the ink receiving layer to 30 μm or less,and, hence, the diameter of yarns preferably does not exceed 1000 μm.The diameter of yarns mentioned herein is a mean value of diameters ofthe yarns extracted from optional several parts of a woven fabric whichare measured by a micrometer.

The woven fabrics used as supports in the present invention are made bygeneral known weaving methods such as plain weaving, twill weaving,sateen weaving, etc. Preferred is a plain weave fabric. Moreover, thediameter of yarns may be partially changed as far as the effect of thepresent invention is not damaged.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an ink receiving layer iscoated on one side of a fabric coated with a pigment layer or a fabricimpregnated with a pigment component. The pigment layer or the pigmentcomponent has the effects to fill up the voids present at intersectionsof warps and wefts constituting the fabric or to level differencespresent between warp and weft. Therefore, the ink receiving layer canreadily exist in the form of a layer on the surface and good ink jetapplicability can be attained.

The pigments contained in the pigment layer or the pigment component arenot limited, and examples thereof are kaolin clay, delaminated clay,calcined clay, heavy calcium carbonate, precipitated (light) calciumcarbonate, aluminum hydroxide, talc, titanium dioxide, calcium sulfate,barium sulfate, zinc oxide, zinc sulfide, zinc carbonate, satin white,aluminum silicate, diatomaceous earth, calcium silicate, magnesiumsilicate, synthetic amorphous silica, colloidal silica, colloidalalumina, pseudoboehmite, alumina, lithopone, zeolite, hydratedhalloysite, magnesium carbonate, and magnesium hydroxide.

The pigment layer and the fabric impregnated with the pigment componentpreferably contain an adhesive in addition to the pigment component. Aslatex adhesives, there may be used conjugated diene copolymer laticessuch as styrene-butadiene copolymer, acrylic polymer latices such aspolymers or copolymers of acrylate esters and/or methacrylate esters,vinyl polymer latices such as styrene-vinyl acetate copolymer, andalkali-reactive or alkali-non-reactive polymer latices prepared bymodifying these various polymer latices with monomers containing afunctional group such as carboxyl group. Especially preferred areconjugated diene copolymer latices such as styrene-butadiene copolymerfrom the points of pigment bonding force, operability, cost and others.

As other adhesives, there may also be used natural adhesives such asoxidized starches, etherified starches, esterified starches,enzyme-modified starches, cold water-soluble starches obtained by flashdrying these starches, casein, and soybean protein.

In order to enhance water retention properties, there may be furtheradded water retaining agents such as alkali thickening type latices,carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and sodium alginate.

In addition, generally employed assistants, e.g., dispersing agent,thickening agent, anti-foaming agent, lubricant, dye, and pH adjustorcan be optionally used.

Compositions for the pigment layer or the pigment component in thepresent invention can be easily prepared by weighing each of the aboveingredients and mixing them by dispersing machines such as Kohlesdispersing machine and Kady mill.

Amount of the adhesive contained in the pigment layer or the pigmentcomponent is preferably 5-50 parts by weight based on 100 parts byweight of the pigment. By containing the adhesive in the above range,ink jet print density can be improved with maintaining the appearance offabric. If the amount of the adhesive is less than 5 parts by weight,gloss of the printed surface of the recording sheet decreases oradhesion becomes weak, and if it is more than 50 parts by weight, glossand adhesion are sufficient, but voids of the pigment are filled up dueto excess covering power and, hence, absorption properties are markedlydeteriorated.

The pigment layer in the present invention can be coated on the fabricby using any coating head such as air knife coater, various bladecoaters or roll coaters. Furthermore, the fabric can be impregnated withthe pigment component by a coating device such as size press or tab sizepress. In this case, amount of the pigment layer or the pigmentcomponent to be impregnated is preferably in the range of 5-250 g/m²,more preferably 10-200 g/m² in absolute dry weight. If the coatingamount is less than 5 g/m², the effect to improve the print densitycannot be obtained, and if it is more than 250 g/m², peeling of the coatmay occur or feeling of a fabric is deteriorated.

In the ink jet recording sheet of the present invention, an inkreceiving layer containing a pigment and an adhesive must be coated onone side of the fabric which is a support. For this purpose, there maybe employed coating devices such as various blade coaters, roll coaters,air knife coaters, bar coaters, rod blade coaters, short dwell coaters,comma coaters, die coaters, reverse roll coaters, kiss-roll coaters, dipcoaters, curtain coaters, extrusion coaters, gate roll coaters, gravurecoaters, micro-gravure coaters, size presses, and tab-size presses.

Coating amount of the ink receiving layer in the ink jet recording sheetof the present invention is not especially limited, but is preferably5-50 g/m², more preferably 10-40 g/m². If the coating amount is lessthan 5 g/m², ink absorbability is deteriorated to cause spreading of theink. If the coating amount exceeds 50 g/m², the ink receiving layerthickly covers the surface of the fabric, and, hence, the stereoscopicfeeling of the surface of the ink receiving layer is damaged or the inkreceiving layer exfoliates to cause deterioration of print quality.

The ink receiving layer used in the present invention can contain one ormore known white pigments. Examples thereof are white inorganic pigmentssuch as precipitated calcium carbonate, heavy calcium carbonate, kaolin,talc, calcium sulfate, barium sulfate, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide,zinc sulfide, zinc carbonate, satin white, aluminum silicate,diatomaceous earth, calcium silicate, magnesium silicate, syntheticamorphous silica, colloidal silica, colloidal alumina, pseudoboehmite,aluminum hydroxide, alumina, lithopone, zeolite, hydrated halloysite,magnesium carbonate, and magnesium hydroxide, and organic pigments suchas styrene plastic pigments, acrylic plastic pigments, polyethylene,microcapsules, urea resin and melamine resin. Among them, syntheticamorphous silica, magnesium carbonate and alumina hydrates and the likeare preferred as white pigments contained as a main component in the inkreceiving layer, and synthetic amorphous silica, especially, gas phasemethod silica is especially preferred from the points of gloss andcolorfulness.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the ink receiving layercontains mainly gas phase method silica. Since the ink receiving layerusing gas phase method silica can form a film which has hightransparency and retains the feeling of the support and can give gloss,glossy feeling and stereoscopic feeling expressed by unevenness ofweaves can be obtained. Here, “containing mainly gas phase methodsilica” means to contain gas phase method silica in an amount of notless than 50% by weight, preferably not less than 60% by weight based ontotal solid content constituting the coating composition.

Amorphous synthetic silica includes one prepared by wet method and oneprepared by gas phase method. Normally, the term “silica fine particles”means the silica prepared by wet method. The wet method silica includes(1) silica sol obtained by double decomposition of sodium silicate withan acid or the like or by passing through an ion exchange resin layer,(2) colloidal silica obtained by aging said silica sol with heating, (3)silica gel obtained by allowing silica sol to gel with changing theproduction conditions thereof, thereby producing three-dimensionalsecondary particles formed through siloxane bonding of primary particlesof several microns to about 10 microns, and (4) synthetic silicic acidcompounds mainly composed of silicic acid which are obtained by heatingsilica sol, sodium silicate, sodium aluminate or the like.

The gas phase method silica which is used preferably in the presentinvention is called dry method silica in contrast to wet method and isgenerally produced by flame hydrolysis method. Specifically, a method ofcombustion of silicon tetrachloride together with hydrogen and oxygen isgenerally known, and in place of the silicon tetrachloride, there may beused silanes such as methyltrichlorosilane and trichlorosilane eachalone or in admixture with silicon tetrachloride. The gas phase methodsilica is commercially available from Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd. andTokuyama Co., Ltd.

Average particle diameter of the primary particles of the gas phasemethod silica preferably used in the present invention is preferably notmore than 50 nm, and more preferably 3-40 nm with a specific surfacearea of not less than 50 m²/g according to BET method, and furtherpreferably 3-15 nm with a specific surface area of not less than 200m²/g according to BET method. The BET method in the present invention isone of the methods for the measurement of surface area of powders by gasphase adsorption method, and is a method by which total surface areapossessed by 1 g of a sample from an adsorption isothermic curve,namely, the specific surface area. Ordinarily, nitrogen gas is oftenused as the gas to be adsorbed, and a method of measuring the adsorptionamount from change in pressure or volume of the gas to be adsorbed isused most often. The most famous for expressing isothermic curve ofadsorption of many molecules is the equation of Brunauer, Emmett,Teller, and this is called BET method and is widely used fordetermination of surface area. An adsorption amount obtained from theBET equation is multiplied by an area which is occupied by one adsorbedmolecule on the surface, thereby obtaining the surface area.

The feature of the gas phase method silica is that primary particles arelinked together in the form of network structure or in the form ofchains and are present in the secondarily agglomerated state, whereby ahigh ink absorbability can be obtained. The state of the-secondaryagglomeration is preferably kept at about 50-500 nm, whereby a high inkabsorbability can be obtained without deteriorating the glossiness. Whenit is used for fabrics, a film can be formed with retaining feeling offabrics. Therefore, it is preferred to previously add various dispersionstabilizers to a solution of gas phase method silica and to treat thesolution by a dispersing machine such as ball mill or high-pressurehomogenizer.

As adhesives used in the ink receiving layer of the present invention,mention may be made of aqueous adhesives, e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, vinylacetate, oxidized starch, etherified starch, cellulose derivatives suchas carboxymethyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose, casein, gelatin,soybean protein, silyl-modified polyvinyl alcohol; conjugated dienecopolymer latices such as styrene-butadiene copolymer and methylmethacrylate-butadiene copolymer; acrylic polymer latices such aspolymers or copolymers of acrylate esters and methacrylate esters andpolymers or copolymers of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid; vinylpolymer latices such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer; or functionalgroup-modified polymer latices prepared by modifying these variouspolymers with monomers containing a functional group such as carboxylgroup; or thermosetting synthetic resins such as melamine resin and urearesin; and synthetic resin adhesives such as polymethyl methacrylate,polyurethane resin, unsaturated polyester resin, vinyl chloride-vinylacetate copolymer, polyvinyl butyral and alkyd resin. These may be usedeach alone or in combination.

Especially preferred hydrophilic adhesives are completely or partiallysaponified polyvinyl alcohol, silanol-modified polyvinyl alcohol orcation-modified polyvinyl alcohol, and the like.

The most preferred polyvinyl alcohols are partially or completelysaponified polyvinyl alcohols having a saponification degree of 80 orhigher and an average polymerization degree of about 200-5000.

The cation-modified polyvinyl alcohols include, for example, those whichhave primary-tertiary amino groups or quaternary ammonium groups in amain chain or a side chain of polyvinyl alcohol such as disclosed inJP-A-61-10483.

Other hydrophilic adhesives can be used additionally, but are preferablyused in an amount of not more than 20% by weight based on the polyvinylalcohol. Amount of the hydrophilic adhesive used together with thepigment for ink receiving layer is not more than 50% by weight,preferably 30-1% by weight based on the pigment of the ink receivinglayer.

In the ink receiving layer of the present invention, in addition to thepreferably used gas phase method silica and hydrophilic adhesives, theremay be used mainly dispersion stabilizers for enhancing dispersionstability of the gas phase method silica and improving gloss and inkabsorbability, cationic compounds for improving water resistance, lightresistance and high-humidity blotting of ink jet ink, hardeners forinhibiting damage of voids of the ink receiving layer caused by swellingwith hydrophilic adhesive at the time of printing.

Conventionally known inorganic and organic dispersion stabilizers can beused as the dispersion stabilizers in the present invention. As theorganic dispersion stabilizers, there may be used various anionic,nonionic and cationic dispersion stabilizers. Preferred are cationicdispersion stabilizers, and more preferred are polydiallylaminederivatives. Examples of the polydiallylamine derivatives are thosewhich contain SO₂ group in the recurring units as disclosed inJP-A-60-83882 and copolymers with acrylamides as disclosed inJP-A-1-9776.

Specifically, the polydiallylamine derivatives used in the presentinvention are commercially available in the name of SHALLOL DC-902P fromDai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd., in the name of JETFIX 110 from SatodaKako Co., Ltd., and in the name of UNICENCE CP-101 from Senka Co., Ltd.Molecular weight of the cationic polymer of the polydiallylaminederivative used in the present invention is preferably not more than100,000, more preferably about 2,000-50,000 from the point of dispersionstabilization of the gas phase method silica.

Amount of the dispersion stabilizer used in the present invention is1-10 parts, preferably 2-7 parts based on 100 parts of the gas phasemethod silica. If the amount of the dispersion stabilizer is larger thanthe above range, ink absorbability of the ink receiving layerdeteriorates and it it is too small, dispersion stability of the gasphase method silica in the coating solution deteriorates, resulting indecrease of film transparency after drying the ink receiving layer. Thatis, appearance peculiar to fabrics is damaged.

Addition of the dispersion stabilizer in the process of preparation of acoating composition containing the gas phase method silica may becarried out by dispersing the gas phase method silica in the presence ofthe dispersion stabilizer or by adding after dispersing the gas phasemethod silica. However, it is important to add the dispersion stabilizerto the dispersion of the gas phase method silica before the addition ofthe hydrophilic adhesive such as polyvinyl alcohol. By such addition,dispersion stability of the gas phase method silica is improved. Asafore-mention, dispersion of the gas phase method silica can be carriedout using generally known dispersing machines such as high-pressurehomogenizer and ball mill.

The cationic compounds contained in the ink receiving layer in thepresent invention include cationic polymers and inorganic cationiccompounds. Examples of the cationic polymers are dicyandiamidederivatives, polyalkylenepolyamine derivatives, polyamine derivatives,polyallylamine derivatives, acrylamine derivatives, polyethyleneiminederivatives, reaction products of low-molecular polyfunctional amineswith polyfunctional compounds for amino group, such as epihalohydrin,and polyamideepichlorohydrin derivatives. At least one of them can becontained. Specifically, the epichlorohydrin derivatives are availablein the name of PAPIOGEN from Senka Co., Ltd. and in the name of JETFIXfrom Satoda Kako Co., Ltd.

Molecular weight of the cationic polymers is not especially limited, butis preferably not more than 100,000 in the case of adding to the gasphase method silica solution so that dispersibility of the gas phasemethod silica is not deteriorated. Moreover, dullness of images can befurther improved by using the gas phase method silica and the cationicpolymer in combination in the present invention.

The inorganic cationic compounds include water-soluble salts of metalsselected from calcium, barium, manganese, copper, cobalt, nickel,aluminum, iron, zinc, zirconium, chromium, magnesium, tungsten, andmolybdenum. Examples of them are calcium acetate, calcium chloride,calcium formate, calcium sulfate, barium acetate, barium sulfate, bariumphosphate, manganese chloride, manganese acetate, manganese formatedihydrate, ammonium manganese sulfate hexahydrate, cupric chloride,ammonium cupric (II) chloride dihydrate, copper sulfate, cobaltchloride, cobalt thiocynate, cobalt sulfate, nickel sulfate hexahydrate,nickel chloride hexahydrate, nickel acetate tetrahydrate, ammoniumnickel sulfate hexahydrate, nickel amidosulfate tetrahydrate, aluminumsulfate, aluminum sulfite, aluminum thiosulfate, polyaluminum chloride,aluminum nitrate nonahydrate, aluminum chloride hexahydrate, ferrousbromide, ferrous chloride, ferric chloride, ferrous sulfate, ferricsulfate, zinc bromide, zinc chloride, zinc nitrate hexahydrate, zincsulfate, zirconium acetate, zirconium chloride, zirconium chloride oxideoctahydrate, zirconium hydroxychloride, chromium acetate, chromiumsulfate, magnesium sulfate, magnesium chloride hexahydrate, magnesiumcitrate nonahydrate, sodium phosphotungstate, tungsten sodium citrate,dodecatungustophosphoric acid n-hydrate, dodecatungstosilicic acidhexacosahydrate, molybdenum chloride, dodecamolybdophosphoric acidn-hydrate, and the like.

In the present invention, water-soluble aluminum compounds areespecially preferred, and examples thereof are aluminum chloride orhydrates thereof, aluminum sulfate or hydrates thereof and aluminumalum. Moreover, there are basic polyaluminum hydroxide compounds whichare inorganic aluminum-containing cationic polymers. Especiallypreferred is a basic polyaluminum hydroxide.

These are commercially available in the name of polyaluminum chloride(PAC) from Tagi Kagaku Co., Ltd. as water treating agents, in the nameof polyaluminum hydroxide (Paho) from Asada Kagaku Co., Ltd., in thename of PURACHEM WT from Riken Green Co., co Ltd., and from other makersfor the similar purposes, and those of various grades can be easilyavailable. In the present invention, these commercially availableproducts can be utilized as they are, but they may be optionallyadjusted in pH.

These cationic compounds may be contained in the ink receiving layer byany methods. For example, there are a method of dissolving or dispersingthem in suitable solvents and impregnating or coating the solution ordispersion after coating the ink receiving layer and a method ofcontaining them in coating solutions for the ink receiving layer.

Amount of the cationic compounds used in the present invention is 0.5-30parts, preferably 1-15 parts based on 100 parts of the pigment. If theamount of the cationic polymer for the pigment is more than 15 parts,ink absorbability is deteriorated. If the amount is less than 1 part,water resistance of the sheet decreases or blotting of ink at highhumidity occurs.

Examples of the hardeners used in the present invention are aldehydecompounds such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, ketone compounds suchas diacetyl and chloropentanedione,bis(2-chloroethylurea)-2-hydroxy-4,6-dichloro-1,3,5-triazine, compoundshaving reactive halogens as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,775,divinyl sulfone, compounds having reactive olefins as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 3,635,718, N-methyol compounds as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.2,732,316, isocyanates as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,437,aziridine compounds as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,017,280 and2,983,611, carbodiimide compounds as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,100,704, epoxy compounds as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,537,halogen carboxyaldehydes such as mucochloric acid, dioxane derivativessuch as dihydroxydioxane, and inorganic hardeners such as chromium alum,zirconium sulfate, boric acid, and borates. These can be used each aloneor in combination of two or more. Boric acid and borates are especiallypreferred. Amount of the hardeners is preferably 0.01-10 g, morepreferably 0.1-5 g based on 100 g of the water-soluble polymer in theink receiving layer.

Various oil drops may be added to the ink receiving layer for improvingfragility of the coated layer. Examples of the oil drops are hydrophobichigh-boiling point organic solvents having a solubility of not more than0.01% by weight in water at room temperature (such as liquid paraffin,dioctyl phthalate, tricresyl phosphate, and silicone oil) and polymerparticles (for example, particles obtained by polymerizing at least onepolymerizable monomers such as styrene, butyl acrylate, divinylbenzene,butyl methacrylate and hydroxyethyl methacrylate). The oil drops can beused in an amount of preferably 10-50% by weight based on thehydrophilic adhesive.

The ink receiving layer of the present invention can contain surfaceactive agents. The surface active agents may be any of anionic type,cationic type, nonionic type and betaine type, and can be low molecularor high molecular ones. One or two or more of the surface active agentsare added to the ink receiving later, and in the case of using two ormore surface active agents in combination, it is not preferred to useanionic one and cationic one in combination. Amount of the surfaceactive agents is preferably 0.001-5 g, more preferably 0.01-3 g based on100 g of the adhesive constituting the ink receiving layer.

Furthermore, the ink receiving layer may further contain various knownadditives such as coloring dyes, coloring pigments, ultravioletabsorbers, antioxidants, antifoaming agents, preservatives, fluorescentbrighteners, viscosity stabilizers, pH adjustors, and silane or titaniumcoupling agents.

Moreover, the ink receiving layer may contain pigment dispersants,thickening agents, fluidity improving agents, foam-inhibitors, releasingagents, foaming agents, penetrating agents, coloring dyes, coloringpigments, mildew-proofing agents, water resisting agents, wetstrengthening agents, and dry strengthening agents.

In order to further enhance the glossy feeling of the ink jet recordingsheets of the present invention, after coating the pigment layer on thefabric as a support, the coated fabric is subjected to a surfacetreatment using a calender such as machine calender, super calender orsoft calender, thereby improving the gloss of the surface of the pigmentlayer and then an ink receiving layer is provided on the pigment layerand gloss of the surface of the ink receiving layer is developed, orafter coating the pigment layer, an ink receiving layer is providedwithout carrying out the surface treatment, and then is subjected to thesurface treatment to develop gloss of the surface of the ink receivinglayer.

The present invention will be explained by the following examples, whichdo not limit the invention. All “part” and “%” in the examples andcomparative examples are part by weight and % by weight unless otherwisenotified.

(Preparation of Solution 1 for Ink Receiving Layer)

A solution of 15% in solid concentration was prepared using 10 parts ofa synthetic amorphous silica (FINESIL X37B manufactured by Tokuyama SodaCo., Ltd.), 130 parts of a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA 117 manufactured byKuraray Co., Ltd.) and 20 parts of a cationic dye fixing agent (SUMIREZResin 1001 manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.). The resultingsolution was referred to as Solution 1 for ink receiving layer.

(Preparation of Solution 2 for Ink Receiving Layer)

To a dispersion medium of water:ethyl alcohol=20:1 were added 100 partsof a gas phase method silica (AEROSIL 380 manufactured by Japan AerosilCo., Ltd.; average primary particle diameter: 7 nm; specific surfacearea according to BET method: 380 m²/g), 4 parts of a cationic polymer(SHALLOL DC902P manufactured by Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd.) and 4parts of a cationic compound (basic polyaluminum hydroxide: Trademark:PYURACHEM WT manufactured by Riken Green Co., Ltd.), followed bydispersing using a high-pressure homogenizer. Thereafter, to thedispersion were added 6 parts of boric acid, 20 parts of a polyvinylalcohol (PVA 235 manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.; saponificationdegree: B88%; average polymerization degree: 3500), 0.3 part of asurface active agent (SWAM AM-2150 manufactured by Japan Surfactant Co.,Ltd.) to prepare a coating solution (total solid concentration 10%).This was referred to as Solution 2 for ink receiving layer.

(Preparation of Solution 3 for Ink Receiving Layer)

Solution 3 for ink receiving layer was prepared in the same manner as inpreparation of Solution 2, except that 100 parts of a gas phase methodsilica (QS-30 manufactured by Tokuyama Co., Ltd.; average primaryparticle diameter: 9 nm; specific surface area according to BET method:300 m²/g) was used in place of 100 parts of the gas phase method silica(AEROSIL 380 manufactured by Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd.; average primaryparticle diameter: 7 nm; specific surface area according to BET method:380 m²/g).

(Preparation of Solution 4 for Ink Receiving Layer)

Solution 4 for ink receiving layer was prepared in the same manner as inpreparation of Solution 2, except that 100 parts of a gas phase methodsilica (AEROSIL 200 manufactured by Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd.; averageprimary particle diameter: 12 nm; specific surface area according to BETmethod: 200 m²/g) was used in place of 100 parts of the gas phase methodsilica (AEROSIL 380 manufactured by Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd.; averageprimary particle diameter: 7 nm; specific surface area according to BETmethod: 380 m²/g).

(Preparation of Solution 5 for Ink Receiving Layer)

Solution 5 for ink receiving layer was prepared in the same manner as inpreparation of Solution 2, except that 100 parts of a gas phase methodsilica (AEROSIL 90G manufactured by Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd.; averageprimary particle diameter: 20 nm; specific surface area according to BETmethod: 90 m²/g) was used in place of 100 parts of the gas phase methodsilica (AEROSIL 380 manufactured by Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd.; averageprimary particle diameter: 7 nm; specific surface area according to BETmethod: 380 m²/g).

(Preparation of Solution 6 for Ink Receiving Layer)

Solution 6 for ink receiving layer was prepared in the same manner as inpreparation of Solution 2, except that 100 parts of a gas phase methodsilica (AEROSIL OX50 manufactured by Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd.; averageprimary particle diameter: 40 nm; specific surface area according to BETmethod: 50 m²/g) was used in place of 100 parts of the gas phase methodsilica (AEROSIL 380 manufactured by Japan Aerosil Co., Ltd.; averageprimary particle diameter: 7 nm; specific surface area according to BETmethod: 380 m²/g).

(Preparation of Solution 1 For Pigment Layer)

A dispersion of 70% by weight in solid concentration was prepared using100 parts by weight of a second class grade clay (PREDISPERSED HTmanufactured by EM Co., Ltd.) as a pigment, 0.4 part by weight of sodiumpolyacrylate as a dispersing agent and 0.1 part by weight ofcarboxymethyl cellulose as a water retaining agent, and 4 parts of astyrene-butadiene latex adhesive was added to the dispersion, followedby stirring. Then, NaOH was added so as to give a pH of 9.5, and waterwas added to obtain a coating composition having a solid concentrationof 62% by weight. This was referred to as Solution 1 for pigment layer.

(Preparation of Solution 2 for Pigment Layer)

A dispersion of 60% by weight in solid concentration was prepared using80 parts by weight of a precipitated calcium carbonate (BRILLIANT 15manufactured by Shiraishi Kogyo Co., Ltd.) and 20 parts by weight oftitanium dioxide (TIPAQUE A220 manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo Co.,Ltd.) as pigments, 0.4 part by weight of sodium polyacrylate as adispersing agent and 0.1 part by weight of carboxy-methyl cellulose as awater retaining agent, and 10 parts of a styrene-butadiene latexadhesive was added to the dispersion, followed by stirring. Then, waterwas added to obtain a coating composition having a solid concentrationof 55% by weight. This was referred to as Solution 2 for pigment layer.

EXAMPLE 1

One side of a polyester fabric (a plain weave fabric comprising offilament yarns having a diameter of 100 μm) as a support was coated withSolution 1 for ink receiving layer by a wire bar so as to give a coatingamount of 10 g/m² after drying, followed by drying the coated fabric toobtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 1. The surface of the inkreceiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 20 μm and a 75°specular gloss of 9.

EXAMPLE 2

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 1 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 2. The surface ofthe ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 14 μm anda 75° specular gloss of 24.

EXAMPLE 3

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 1 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 3. The surface ofthe ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 8 μm and a75° specular gloss of 34.

EXAMPLE 4

One side of a polyester fabric (a plain weave fabric comprising filamentyarns having an outer diameter of 100 μm) as a support was coated withSolution 1 for pigment layer by a wire bar so as to give a coatingamount of 100 g/m² after drying, followed by drying the coated fabric.Then, Solution 1 for ink receiving layer prepared in the preliminaryoperation was coated on the pigment layer by a wire bar so as to give acoating amount of 10 g/m² after drying and was dried to obtain an inkjet recording sheet of Example 4. The surface of the ink receiving layerhad an arithmetical mean roughness of 17 μm and a 75° specular gloss of14.

EXAMPLE 5

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 4 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 5. The surface ofthe ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 10 μm anda 75° specular gloss of 28.

EXAMPLE 6

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 4 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 6. The surface ofthe ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 2 μm and a75° specular gloss of 38.

EXAMPLE 7

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 7 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 1, except that the fabric used was changed to a plainweave polyester fabric comprising yarns having an outer diameter of 230μm. The surface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical meanroughness of 29 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 8.

EXAMPLE 8

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 7 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 8. The surface ofthe ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 21 μm anda 75° specular gloss of 13.

EXAMPLE 9

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 7 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 9. The surface ofthe ink receiving layer had a center line average roughness of 15 μm anda 75 specular gloss of 21.

EXAMPLE 10

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 10 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 4, except that the fabric used was changed to a plainweave polyester fabric comprising yarns having an outer diameter of 230μm. The surface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical meanroughness of 23 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 10.

EXAMPLE 11

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in co Example 10 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 11. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 6 A4mand a 75° specular gloss of 27.

EXAMPLE 12

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 10 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 12. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 4 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 31.

EXAMPLE 13

One side of a polyester fabric (a plain weave fabric comprising filamentyarns of 100 μm in diameter) as a support was coated with Solution 2 forink receiving layer by a wire bar so as to give a coating amount of 10g/m² after drying, followed by drying the coated fabric to obtain an inkjet recording sheet of Example 13. The surface of the ink receivinglayer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 19 μm and a 75 speculargloss of 18.

EXAMPLE 14

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 13 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 14. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 14 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 28.

EXAMPLE 15

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 13 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 15. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 5 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 37.

EXAMPLE 16

One side of a polyester fabric (a plain weave fabric comprising filamentyarns of 100 μm in diameter) as a support was coated with Solution 1 forpigment layer by a wire bar so as to give a coating amount of 100 g/m²after drying, followed by drying the coated fabric. Then, Solution 2 forink receiving layer was coated on the pigment layer by a wire bar so asto give a coating amount of 10 g/m² after drying and was dried to obtainan ink jet recording sheet of Example 16. The surface of the inkreceiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 17 μm and a 75°specular gloss of 20.

EXAMPLE 17

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 16 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 17. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 10 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 32.

EXAMPLE 18

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 16 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 18. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 2 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 36.

EXAMPLE 19

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 19 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 13, except that the fabric used was changed to a plainweave polyester fabric comprising yarns having a diameter of 230 μm. Thesurface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of30 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 13.

EXAMPLE 20

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 19 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 20. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 8 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 38.

EXAMPLE 21

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 19 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 21. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 12 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 35.

EXAMPLE 22

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 22 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 16, except that the fabric used was changed to a plainweave polyester fabric comprising yarns having a diameter of 230 μm. Thesurface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of15 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 23.

EXAMPLE 23

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 22 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 160kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 23. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 8 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 40.

EXAMPLE 24

The ink jet recording sheet obtained in Example 22 was subjected tocalendering treatment (passing twice under a linear pressure of 240kg/cm) to obtain an ink jet recording sheet of Example 24. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 7 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 42.

EXAMPLE 25

One side of a polyester fabric (a plain weave fabric comprising filamentyarns of 230 μm in diameter) as a support was coated with Solution 2 forpigment layer by a wire bar so as to give a coating amount of 100 g/m²after drying, followed by drying the coated fabric. Then, Solution 3 forink receiving layer was coated on the pigment layer by a wire bar so asto give a coating amount of 15 g/m² after drying and was dried to obtainan ink jet recording sheet of Example 25. The surface of the inkreceiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 14 μm and a 75°specular gloss of 17.

EXAMPLE 26

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 26 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 25, except that Solution 2 for ink receiving layer wasused in place of Solution 3 for ink receiving layer. The surface of theink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 14 μm and a75° specular gloss of 17.

EXAMPLE 27

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 27 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 25, except that Solution 4 for ink receiving layer wasused in place of Solution 3 for ink receiving layer. The surface of theink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 14 μm and a75° specular gloss of 16.

EXAMPLE 28

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 28 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 25, except that Solution 5 for ink receiving layer wasused in place of Solution 3 for ink receiving layer. The surface of theink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 15 μm and a75° specular gloss of 15.

EXAMPLE 29

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 29 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 25, except that Solution 6 for ink receiving layer wasused in place of Solution 3 for ink receiving layer. The surface of theink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 15 μm and a75° specular gloss of 15.

EXAMPLE 30

An ink jet recording sheet of Example 30 was obtained in the same manneras in Example 25, except that Solution 7 for ink receiving layer wasused in place of Solution 3 for ink receiving layer. The surface of theink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 10 μm and a75° specular gloss of 19.

Comparative Example 1

An ink jet recording sheet of Comparative Example 1 was obtained in thesame manner as in Example 1, except that a polyester fabric (a plainweave fabric comprising filament yarns having a diameter of 1200 μm) wasused as the support in place of the polyester fabric (a plain weavefabric comprising filament yarns having a diameter of 100 μm). Thesurface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of51 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 2.

Comparative Example 2

An ink jet recording sheet of Comparative Example 2 was obtained in thesame manner as in Example 4, except that a polyester fabric (a plainweave fabric comprising filament yarns having a diameter of 1200 μm) wasused in place of the polyester fabric (a plain weave filament comprisingfilament yarns having an outer diameter of 100 μm) as the support. Thesurface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of45 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 3.

Comparative Example 3

An ink jet recording sheet of Comparative Example 3 was obtained in thesame manner as in Example 13, except that a polyester fabric (a plainweave fabric comprising filament yarns having a diameter of 1200 μm) wasused in place of the polyester fabric (a plain weave fabric comprisingfilament yarns having a diameter of 100 μm) as the support. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 46 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 3.

Comparative Example 4

An ink jet recording sheet of Comparative Example 4 was obtained in thesame manner as in Example 16, except that a polyester fabric (a plainweave fabric comprising filament yarns having a diameter of 1200 μm) wasused in place of the polyester fabric (a plain weave fabric comprisingfilament yarns having a diameter of 100 μm) as the support. The surfaceof the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical mean roughness of 43 μmand a 75° specular gloss of 4.

Comparative Example 5

An ink jet recording sheet of Comparative Example 5 was obtained in thesame manner as in Example 13, except that a paper having a basis weightof 250 g/m² was used in place of the polyester fabric (a plain weavefabric comprising filament yarns having a diameter of 100 μm) as thesupport. The surface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical meanroughness of 1 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 24.

Comparative Example 6

An ink jet recording sheet of Comparative Example 6 was obtained in thesame manner as in Example 16, except that a paper having a basis weightof 250 g/m² was used in place of the polyester fabric (a plain weavefabric comprising filament yarns having a diameter of 100 μm) as thesupport. The surface of the ink receiving layer had an arithmetical meanroughness of 1 μm and a 75° specular gloss of 40.

Test methods

(1) Print Density

Each of the recording sheets produced in the examples and thecomparative examples was cut to a size of A4, and then the sheet wassubjected to solid printing of each 100% of black color, cyan color,magenta color and yellow color by an ink jet printer (Desk Jet 2500CPmanufactured by HP Co., Ltd. with UV ink). Density of each printedportion was measured by Macbeth RD919. The greater value means thehigher print density and the better printability.

(2) Appearance

C) Each of the recording sheets produced in the c; examples and thecomparative examples was cut to a size of A0, and then the sheet wassubjected to printing of a suitable oil painting by an ink jet printer(JV2-130 manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd.). The printedrecording sheet was stuck on a wood frame and set in a picture frame foroil painting. This was hung on a wall and visually observed at adistance of about 5 m therefrom. The printed sheet which showed anappearance closer to the oil painting was judged to be good inappearance and evaluated by 5 grades. The grade 5 is the best, and thegrade 3 or higher means that the print looks like a painting.

(3) Gloss of Print

Each of the ink jet recording sheets produced in the examples and thecomparative examples was cut to a size of A4, and then the sheet wassubjected to solid printing of 100% magenta color by an ink jet printer(Desk Jet 2500CP manufactured by HP Co., Ltd. with UV ink). Then, the60° gloss of the solid printed portion was measured by a gloss meter(digital gloss meter Model GM-26D manufactured by Murakami ShikisaiGijutsu Kenkyusho), and this was taken as a gloss of the print. Thehigher value means that the print has the higher gloss and shows feelingcloser to the oil painting.

TABLE 1 Print density Gloss of Black Cyan Magenta Yellow Appearanceprint Example 1 1.38 1.14 1.18 1.10 3 7.9 Example 2 1.53 1.24 1.29 1.224 15.2 Example 3 1.58 1.28 1.35 1.28 4 16.4 Example 4 1.36 1.14 1.201.08 3 11.0 Example 5 1.56 1.26 1.32 1.25 4 15.8 Example 6 1.55 1.271.32 1.26 3 16.7 Example 7 1.42 1.20 1.21 1.19 3 7.1 Example 8 1.52 1.241.34 1.27 4 15.6 Example 9 1.57 1.28 1.34 1.27 4 16.0 Example 10 1.501.26 1.29 1.21 3 8.3 Example 11 1.55 1.27 1.33 1.26 4 16.1 Example 121.56 1.29 1.36 1.27 4 17.3 Example 13 1.51 1.30 1.32 1.29 4 14.9 Example14 1.60 1.32 1.37 1.30 5 19.4 Example 15 1.64 1.38 1.37 1.34 5 20.4Example 16 1.50 1.29 1.32 1.30 4 16.3 Example 17 1.62 1.34 1.34 1.30 519.7 Example 18 1.66 1.38 1.37 1.35 4 20.9 Example 19 1.52 1.32 1.331.33 5 15.3 Example 20 1.63 1.37 1.36 1.33 5 21.0 Example 21 1.62 1.331.34 1.28 5 19.1 Example 22 1.51 1.32 1.32 1.31 5 18.8 Example 23 1.601.37 1.35 1.35 5 22.7 Example 24 1.61 1.36 1.37 1.31 5 21.6 Example 251.60 1.39 1.37 1.38 5 16.9 Example 26 1.62 1.39 1.36 1.35 5 16.8 Example27 1.60 1.37 1.36 1.36 5 16.7 Example 28 1.59 1.36 1.33 1.32 5 16.4Example 29 1.56 1.35 1.33 1.33 5 16.5 Example 30 1.61 1.38 1.36 1.37 517.1 Comparative 1.29 1.10 1.16 1.08 1 4.0 Example 1 Comparative 1.331.12 1.11 1.05 1 5.0 Example 2 Comparative 1.41 1.19 1.20 1.16 2 5.2Example 3 Comparative 1.50 1.28 1.29 1.27 2 9.8 Example 4 Comparative1.67 1.37 1.35 1.36 1 18.6 Example 5 Comparative 1.66 1.36 1.37 1.34 122.3 Example 6Evaluation

As can be seen from Table 1, the ink jet recording sheets of Examples114 30 which are according to the present invention have good appearancelooking like oil paintings, and especially those of Examples 4-6, 10-12,16-18 and 22-24 which have pigment layers are better in gloss afterprinting and have appearance closer to oil paintings than those ofExamples 1-3, 7-9, 13-15 and 19-21 which have no corresponding pigmentlayer. Furthermore, it can be seen that when woven fabrics comprisingyarns having a diameter of not less than 200 μm are used as supports,the resulting prints are apparently closer to oil paintings with causingno great change in arithmetical mean roughness and 75° specular gloss ofthe surface of the ink receiving layer (Examples 7-12 and 19-24).Moreover, it can be seen that when a gas phase method silica iscontained in the ink receiving layer, the glossy feeling is furtherimproved and, as a result, the print density is further improved andthus the gloss of print is also improved, and better images looking likeoil paintings can be printed (Examples 13-30). On the other hand, inComparative Examples 1-4 where the arithmetical mean roughness and the75° specular gloss are outside those specified in the present invention,the print density and the gloss of print are lower, and therefore theappearance is far from an oil painting. Furthermore, in ComparativeExamples 5 and 6, not a fabric, but a paper is used as the support, and,hence, the appearance is utterly different from the feeling of an oilpainting.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

When an oil painting is printed using the ink recording sheet of thepresent invention, an image looking like the oil painting can beobtained without subjecting to other treatments after printing, and thusthe ink receiving sheet is useful.

1. An ink jet recording sheet comprising a support and an ink receivinglayer provided on one side of the support, the support being a fabricand having a pigment layer on at least the side on which the inkreceiving layer is provided or is impregnated with a pigment component,wherein the fabric is a woven fabric comprising yarns having a diameterof 100-1,000 μm and the surface of the ink receiving layer has anarithmetical mean roughness of not more than 30 μm measured inaccordance with JIS B0601.
 2. An ink jet recording sheet according toclaim 1, wherein the surface of the ink receiving layer has a 75°specular gloss of not less than 10 measured in accordance with JISP8142.
 3. An ink jet recording sheet according to claim 1, wherein thefabric is a woven fabric comprising yarns having a diameter of not lessthan 200 μm.
 4. An ink jet recording sheet according to claim 2, whereinthe fabric is a woven fabric comprising yarns having a diameter of notless than 200 μm.
 5. An ink jet recording sheet according to claim 1,wherein the ink receiving layer contains a gas phase method silica. 6.An ink jet recording sheet according to claim 2, wherein the inkreceiving layer contains a gas phase method silica.
 7. An ink jetrecording sheet according to claim 3, wherein the ink receiving layercontains a gas phase method silica.
 8. An ink jet recording sheetaccording to claim 5, wherein the gas phase method silica has an averageprimary particle diameter of 3-40 nm and a specific surface area of notless than 50 m²/g measured by BET method.
 9. An ink jet recording sheetaccording to claim 6, wherein the gas phase method silica has an averageprimary particle diameter of 3-40 nm and a specific surface area of notless than 50 m²/g measured by BET method.
 10. An ink jet recording sheetaccording to claim 7, wherein the gas phase method silica has an averageprimary particle diameter of 3-40 nm and a specific surface area of notless than 50 m²/g measured by BET method.